The Big Bang: I want to use this blog to present thoughtful, rational arguments to support my political views. Other times, though, I'm just too flabbergasted and can only manage disgust. What the hell is wrong with these people? Who blows up a historic and religious shrine just in the hopes that people will try to kill you in retaliation? Who wants to spark a destructive civil war?

In all the controversy about our involvement in Iraq, I find the whole timeline issue most perplexing. Democrats and the Left want us to pull out of Iraq -- although some want us out faster than others, that's still the stated goal. The Baathist/Sunni insurgents want U.S. troops out of Iraq. And the Bush administration wants to pull out of Iraq -- of course they want things to stabilize first, but if that happened tomorrow, we'd be out in a heartbeat.

The only group that seems to revel in our presence is Al Qaeda. If they truly wanted U.S. troops out, all Al Qaeda would have to do is stop fighting. Things would appear calm, and we'd move on to poking Iran with a stick. But even though Al Qaeda claims to want us out, it's their actions that keep us there.